Chapter 7
I tried very hard not to overwhelm Gwyn.
There was so much to teach her, and I felt like the information I shared was all over the place.
I had no idea of the process, of what to teach her and in what order.
All I’d done today was tell her what was applicable in the moment, which didn’t seem the best method.
Too hodgepodge. I was bound to miss important things.
I definitely needed to ask Beau for guidance.
Still, it felt good to pass along what I knew and watch her gain some confidence in the process.
I liked teaching, although it was taking me a minute to find my feet.
Gwyn had gone from her parents’ home, to us, to learning how to handle her gift.
Any of those activities would be a lot to process on its own.
Today, I only wanted her to watch and observe—watch how to guide a ghost to pass on, peacefully.
Watch how we interacted with the mayor to get the access we needed.
I liked how she took notes, even using her tablet to take pictures of the setup.
She was a good student and keen to learn.
She did keep a cautious eye on any nearby ghost, but I took the time to introduce myself to the friendly ones and showed her the right signs to determine bad ghosts from good, which settled her nerves some.
Gwyn explained there were some friendly ghosts in the town who sometimes helped her, so not all her experiences had been bad. Thankfully.
It barely took thirty minutes to pass the ghosts in the mayor’s office.
After they were gone, I walked both the mayor and my apprentice around the building, showing how to lay down salt at every window and doorway leading outside, with instructions on how often to renew it.
Mayor Hernandez seemed incredibly thankful to have a secure workplace.
She’d need it in the upcoming weeks. I had no doubt she was going to be running interference a lot for us.
Next, we headed to the central park, located right outside of the mayor’s office. Everything was built off this central square—not that it was square shaped. Just a concentration of businesses along this stretch of the road.
I spotted Eli with Quinn outside of a pharmacy. It looked more like an old-timey general store, but that could just be aesthetics. Both of them were eating ice cream but didn’t really look relaxed. Quinn kept an eye on Eli, while Eli scanned the area with a mistrustful expression.
Walking toward them, I scanned the area as well and saw why Eli was wary.
Though the physical area wasn’t overly big, it was packed with ghosts.
Individual ones walking up and down the sidewalks, others who moved in a group like some kind of gang, and a whole gathering of them in the green park space across the way from us.
Some of them were white, most a murky yellow, and I didn’t like the look of them at all. I didn’t want them anywhere near Gwyn.
Some of the ghosts who passed us were dressed like sex workers from back in the day, and fortunately, they only gave us a once-over.
The others, though, were far more curious.
A few whistled at Brandon, acting like they would love to get their hands on him.
Those I warned away with a stern look. Hands. Off.
Gwyn was the most nervous. She sidled in very close to me, tucking herself between me and Brandon, and eyed the ghosts around her warily.
Seeing her nerves, I leaned in closer to speak in a low voice. “Gwyn, it’s all right to take Brandon’s arm in situations like this. He’ll guide us when we’re surrounded so we don’t trip over things.”
“Oh,” she said with such obvious relief, I felt bad about not saying so before. She immediately turned, grabbing his arm.
Brandon looked down, checking on her, mouth going flat. “How crowded is this area?”
“Bad,” I confirmed, face screwing up with distaste. Catching a key word, I turned sharply to my left, saw yet another prostitute leering, and pointed a finger straight at her face. “You. Don’t even think about it.”
She’d been pretty in life and still wore clothing displaying all her assets. Her eyes locked on Brandon, she made pouty lips as if he could see her. “Not like you need that fine man—”
“That fine man is my fiancé,” I cut through, my tone hardening in warning. “You touch him, I vaporize you.”
Her pout fell and she glared before turning her back and disappearing.
Lord have mercy, would I need to defend my fiancé’s virtue the entire time we were in this benighted town? Maybe I needed to get him a shirt: Very Much Taken. Or something.
To make matters worse, we stood only a stone’s throw from the river, unfortunately.
Pausing at the bench where the couple sat, I turned to face the river. I couldn’t see it from here, but I could hear it flowing, plus the slight roar of a waterfall coming from somewhere. Surprisingly, it sounded quite fast moving.
“I know the map showed a river running right through the town,” Brandon muttered behind me, “but damn.”
“I took a peek, and the back of those buildings has maybe a ten, fifteen-foot span before it drops sharply down.” Eli made a face and kept licking her mint chocolate ice cream. “Ten-foot drop in most sections, some places steeper. I wonder how many people have died falling into the water?”
Gwyn piped up as she sat on the only empty spot of the bench. “A lot.”
We all looked at her and she shrugged.
“We do cover local history in class, for about a week. I learned about it at the beginning of the semester. Because of all the miners and prostitutes and stuff, there were a lot of deaths here. The prostitutes would sometimes take customers down to the riverbank—there used to be a staircase—and they’d do business down there.
Only, if they pressed for payment, they just as likely got killed and left there.
Plus, you had the drunks who would fall from the bridge. ”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. God almighty, I hated that answer.
Booker came out of the store with ice cream in hand, plus a bag. “Found local history books,” he announced, quite happily, because Booker loved data. “Uh, why the long faces?”
“Gwyn, can you repeat what you just said?” I requested.
She did so, and Booker’s nose scrunched up in distaste.
“Well, that’s going to be fun. I’ll bet they don’t let people down there anymore, but hopefully stairs still exist.”
“A question for the mayor,” Brandon said.
I was about to relay to them what had just happened in the office, but Brandon’s phone ringing interrupted my thought before I could vocalize it.
“Hi, Sylvia,” he said.
“Hi. I’ve made some calls, looked around, and found a much better place for you to move to.
Quinn’s suggestion of Two J’s Cattle Ranch was spot on.
I called them, explained the situation, and they’re giving you the run of an entire bunkhouse.
I understand it has six bedrooms, plus a kitchen and living room, so you’ve got room to maneuver in.
I’ve got it locked down, so just show up before five o’clock to get keys and the access code through the main gate, and you’re all set. Someone tell Lachlan as well.”
“Will do.”
That was a definite relief and a weight off my shoulders.
I leaned against Brandon’s arm to speak into the phone. “Sylvia, something a bit worrisome happened.”
Sylvia sounded reluctant to ask. “What?”
“We stopped at the mayor’s office first and saw ghosts there, so I chose to clear the building to show Gwyn. But in the process of passing the ghosts, we discovered Brandon could see and hear them.”
“See is a bit strong,” Brandon interjected. “I could make out their general outlines. But I could hear them clearly, even without Mack boosting them enough for me to be able to do so.”
I saw Eli’s, Booker’s, and Quinn’s expressions drop in dismay.
“Shit.” Sylvia was officially done with this week, from her tone. “So how strong are the ghosts?”
“I don’t know as yet. The ones I’ve met and passed were peaceful, but…I also didn’t need to boost them much at all to pass them. Guiding only. It was easy, but of course the problematic ones are going to be difficult.”
“This sounds more and more like a Mortal Kombat situation.”
I laughed and then groaned. Dammit, must I be a fighter in the ring? Although it did rather feel that way.
“All I’m saying is, we might be in for a tougher fight than we’d expected. So if you do come across anyone else who has the time to come help, even for a short window, we’d all appreciate it.”
Sylvia swore a little under her breath. “I’m afraid I’m about to add to the bad news. Falisa and Ken are no longer coming.”
The squawk of dismay that erupted out of my mouth was not dignified but accurate, and I was mirrored by everyone else but Gwyn. Nooo, we couldn’t be a Medium down already!
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry. We had an urgent case drop and they were the closest Mediums. I had to send them there. I’m hoping they can finish and join you after. I don’t know if I can send anyone else, but I’ll be on the lookout for someone. Keep me posted.” Click.
We all sort of looked at each other. Three Mediums?
Well, three trained Mediums, a sick one, and a trainee for this whole place?
I could feel the stress building already.
My goodness lordy, what had I done to deserve this?
This was like the Scotland case and the tree case combined.
Did I betray a country in a previous life?
Accidentally kick a puppy? What? I’d make amends if someone would just tell me.
Eli was the one to ask, “Since we haven’t started working yet, not really, should we pause here and switch hotels before coming back to this?”
“Might as well,” I said. “There’s too many to easily pass here and no good spot to do it in. This will take planning.”
Everyone else seemed to be of the same mind.